5 life-saving tests

4. Chlamydia
Causing few or no symptoms in many women, chlamydia can conceal its damaging effects for years. With timely treatment, however, most women recover from chlamydia without long-term damage. According to Dr. Marc Steben, a consultant to the infectious disease unit at the Montreal Public Health Authorities, the prevalence of chlamydia in Canada has been climbing steadily since its low point in 1996. In 1999, close to 30,000 Canadian women contracted the disease, along with about 12,000 men. Why the discrepancy? "Women are more prone to all sexually transmitted infections because there is more surface area in the cervix," says Dr. Steben. "Also, infected semen has a longer time of contact in the cervix. The time of contact is less for men [because of their physiology]."

While a urine test for chlamydia has recently become available, Dr. Steben prefers the old-fashioned cervical swab, which he considers more reliable. As to frequency of testing, Dr. Domb recommends "once for each new monogamous relationship, and every few months if you're sexually active with partners who may not be monogamous -- and, of course, whenever you have symptoms suggestive of a sexually transmitted disease."

5. Visual skin check
Your lifetime risk of melanoma -- the type of skin cancer that can spread -- is about six to seven per cent, still higher if you have a fair complexion or an abundance of moles. Regardless of your skin type, Dr. Barbara Kellner, a practising dermatologist and assistant clinical professor at the University of Calgary, recommends a yearly whole-body skin check by a family doctor or dermatologist. Even more useful, she says, is to do your own checks every few months. "We know that the person most likely to pick up early melanoma, when it's highly treatable, is the patient herself."

What to look for? It's as simple as ABCD: A for asymmetry, B for border irregularity, C for colour variation (watch for dark brown, black or red undertones or mixed colours), and D for diameter, a red flag being a diameter of at least the size of a standard pencil eraser.

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